COLUMBIA - South Carolina House legislators, after a contentious and emotional debate, gave key approval Wednesday to a bill that requires women seeking abortions in the state to first review ultrasound images of their fetus.

If enacted, it would be the first law of its kind in the nation. Some states make ultrasound images available to women before an abortion, but South Carolina would be alone in mandating that women see the pictures.

The proposal easily passed 91-23 after lawmakers defeated amendments exempting rape or incest.

The bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Greg Delleney, said the fetus is still an unborn child, regardless of how it's created.

"Are you saying God makes mistakes with the lives he creates?" Mr. Delleney said.

Twenty-three Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and two Republicans voted against it.

Critics consider the proposal a tool to intimidate women who already have made an agonizing decision. Proponents hope women will change their minds after seeing an ultrasound and choose to keep the child or offer it for adoption.

Rep. Alan Clemmons, choking back tears as he talked about his two adopted children, recalled a prayer given by his 11-year-old daughter.

"She thanked her God, her Father in heaven, for her birth mother for loving her enough to give her life," said Mr. Clemmons, a Myrtle Beach Republican. "I thank my God for those young mothers who chose to give them life."

The state's three abortion clinics already perform ultrasounds, paid for by the woman seeking the procedure, to determine the fetus' age.

The state's informed-consent law, passed in 1994, requires abortion doctors to tell women the likely age of their fetus and give them information about fetal development and alternatives to abortion. Women must consider the information for at least an hour before terminating their pregnancy.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said the new requirement is emotional blackmail for a woman.

"You love them in the womb, but once they get here it's a different story," said Ms. Cobb-Hunter, a social worker. "You're sitting here passing judgment? Who gave you the right?"

As a neuroradiologist, William Miller knew that his fatigue and increasing slowness could be more than just getting older.

"I'm just not as quick as I used to be," said Dr. Miller, 71.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than two years ago and is now pinning his hopes not on a new wonder drug but a common supplement athletes take to build muscle.

The NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is launching today one of its largest long-term clinical trials on Parkinson's disease to see whether the supplement creatine can slow the progress of the disease, said program director Debra Babcock.

The Movement Disorders Program at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta will be one of 51 sites across the United States and Canada enrolling more than 1,700 patients to either receive the supplement or a placebo for at least five years, said clinic director Kapil Sethi.

There are drugs to treat symptoms but nothing so far that halts the progressive disorder, which strikes at certain neurons in the brain involved in movement. Creatine may be able to help boost the energy-producing mechanisms within those cells, known as the mitochondria, to help improve function, Dr. Babcock said.

"When athletes take it, they're just trying to boost the amount of energy they get; whereas in Parkinson's we're trying to make up for a fall-off in energy," she said. "We're trying to prevent the battery from dying out. We're recharging it rather than boosting it to a higher level."

Neurologists have tried to steer patients away from taking supplements unless approved by a physician. The dosage and quality of the creatine used in the clinical trial will be specially created for those patients and closely monitored. For that reason, Parkinson's patients not included in the trial should not rush out and start taking creatine, Dr. Sethi said.

"We don't know how much they're getting; we don't know what they're getting; so we tell them not to take creatine," he said.

The fact that it is going to last at least five years, and likely much longer, is encouraging to Dr. Miller.

"It perhaps gives you some hope that there's thought that the creatine may be effective for a long term," he said. "The disease is a progressive disease, and if it either slows down or stops progression that would be marvelous."

And it would provide an effective weapon for Dr. Sethi and other physicians who see patients slowly spiral down.

"It's still a humbling disease. Even with all of the advances we've made. Anything that slows it down convincingly would be great."

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.

A day after 2-year-old Cole Ford fatally was struck by a school bus, police continued their investigation Wednesday to determine how the accident occurred.

"We're conducting a thorough and comprehensive investigation and then, in the end, a determination will be made as to what, if any charges will be filed," said Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris, adding that a ruling likely won't be made until next week.

Meanwhile, some in the area of Wilkins Road in Grovetown voiced concerns about the private one-lane dirt driveway where the incident occurred.

John Wilkins said he was unaware that a school bus was accessing his private driveway to transport children to some mobile homes. Otherwise, he said he would not have allowed it.

"I just never dreamed it would be an issue with children and the school bus," he said, adding he would construct a berm to prevent school buses from using the driveway.

Cole instantly was killed Tuesday after authorities say he either ran in front of or under the school bus as it pulled away from a stop. A Wednesday autopsy determined he died from injuries to the head and pelvis.

The bus, No. 215, serves Brookwood Elementary School and was driven by Candy Hammett, 37, of Grovetown, authorities said.

Lois O'Neal, a Wilkins Road resident, said she has been concerned about the private driveway and has called school officials in the past about the road being narrow.

"They're not even supposed to be down there," she said. "This child would be alive today. ... Now, a 2-year-old is dead and this whole neighborhood is devastated."

Repeated calls to the Ford home were not answered Wednesday and deputies said there was no one home during the day.